30 September 

THE  yield  of  sterculia  gum,  locally  known  as  Saekalamae,  has registered a drop in the tap-ping  season  this  year  owing  to  poor  rainfall,  said  U  Zaw  Min,  the chair of the Sagaing Region Sterculia  Gum  Producers  and  Exporters Association. 

“Lack  of  rainfall  has  led  to  a 20 per cent drop in yield. Last year,  an  acre  produced  10  viss  of gum (a viss is approximately equal to 1.6 kg). This year, only 8 viss  of  gum  was  produced.  Despite the fall in yield, the price of sterculia gum is on the high side. I have 30 acres of sterculia farms, but only two can produce gum,” said U Chit Htay, a grower from Gwaypinkwin  village,  Butalin  Township.  The herb is naturally found across the country. Growers  from  Mandalay,  Sagaing,  Magway,  Bago,  and  Taninthayi  regions are cultivating the gum on  a  commercial  scale.  There  are  13,633  acres  of  commercial  gum  plantations,  most  of  them  based in Mandalay and Sagaing regions. 

Myanmar gum is currently being exported to China. Japan has also shown interest in it, but it wants only organically farmed gum. Gum producer bodies have submitted a report to the Commerce Ministry, seeking its help to link them with more external markets. 

Sterculia  gum  or  Karaya gum  is  grown  in  many  countries. While the gum originating from  many  countries  can  only  be  used  as  an  industrial  raw  material,  the  gum  produced  in  Myanmar can be eaten. There-fore, there is a high demand for Myanmar’s gum. To supply gum to other countries, farmers need to  maintain  high  quality.

Win  Oo/ Ko Khant (Translated by Ei Myat Mon)